RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT. Saturday, November 28, 1857.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XVI, 2 December 1857, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT. Saturday, November 28, 1857.

[Before John Potntee, Esq., Resident Magutrate.]

Bridget Dougherty and Ellen, her daughter, were again placed before the magistrate, this time upon a charge of vagrancy: Thomas Fagan, chief constable, sworn, said: The two prisoners have been wandering about, and lodging in the open air, having no visible means of living ; and I have taken them into custody, under the provisions of the vagrancy act, for the constables have been continuously receiving complaints respecting their conduct, and have had to be constantly on the look out for these people ; they were both turned out of the depot, and have since been living in the open air, at this end of the buildings ; and have held one continuous levee day, and night, attended by sailors, and all the idlers of the town.

Bridget: Do you say you take me up under the vagrancy scale ? Don't you know that Mr. Robert Aitken has supplied me with victuals ?

Magistrate : But this has nothing to do with the charge. You hear, the constable says you have been inviting men into your tent. You have been twice admitted into the barracks, and have each time misbehaved yourself; I saw you myself the other night carrying on your disgraceful conduct with a lot of men. Bridget to Fagan : Have you ever seen people gathered about me and going into my tent?

I Fagan : Lots of times. William Harper, constable, sworn, said: I have seen the prisoners misconducting themselves numbers of times ; and only last Sunday evening I was compelled to lock a man up for misconduct at the prisoners' house in the depot. On Wednesday last I had to take a man out of bed from alongside the elder prisoner, and at this time her daughter Ellen was beneath the bed ; the mother had a bottle in her hand, and was drunk. I have had to order men away from the prisoners' tent every evening ; and the last night they were there, I saw fourteen men who would not go awajr. Bridget : There, your honour, now see, if your constable can't send away the men, how can I?

Harper, in continuation, said : We have sent her out of town three* times, and yet she always returned, and would insist on some man accompanying her home. I saw six men surrounding the younger prisoner at 10 o'clock the other night, and from the continued noise and disturbance, I have had to go up ,to them, three and four times nightly.

Bridget : Don't you know the men used to come and throw filth in my face? — I know that you used to be continually drunk, and on one occasion I saw you danciag with a caak on your head, . , r « _

The Magistrate said : He should commit Mrs. Dougherty to gaol for one month ; and on asking Ellen what she had to urge in her defence, she said she was going away, and that if the magistrate would release her he should never see her ngain, for a friend had paid her passage by the " General Wool " for Melbourne.

The magistrate then remanded prisoner, that inquiries might be made into the truth of this statement.

Monday, Novembee 30.

Ellen Dougherty this morning appeared, having been remanded that inquiry might be made into the truth of her statement relative to her passage being engaged by the " General Wool" for Melbourne.

The Magistrate said, it appeared there was no foundation for what she had said, he must therefore commit her to gaol for one month to hard labour, and he hoped that it might be the means of preforming her. She begged hard, but in vain, that she might be let go only this once, promising all kinds of amendment. The magistrate said, " You should have thought of all this when you were pursuing your late reprehensible conduct."